mayhew



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.'

A. MAYHEW.- l AUTOMATIC EOILEE EEEDEE.

No, 364,534. Patented June 7, 1887.

Fgj, l

u. PETERS. Phmmmhognplmr. wnhmgnm u. c,

(No Model.) 2 Shets-,Sheet 2. A. MAYHEW.

AUTOMATIC BOILBR FEEDER.

Patented June` v7, 1887.

@5MM M N. PL rERs. PhUwLimogrnphar. wnshingmn. DA l:4

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

ALFRED MAYHEW, OF LONDON, COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND.

AUTOMATIC BOlLER-FEEDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 364,534, dated .Tune 7, 1887.

Application filed JulyQD, 1880. Serial No. 200,437. (No model.) Patented in France April 8, 1884, No. 101,404; in Belgium May 10, 1884, No. 05,124; in England May 13, 1884, No. 7,047; in Germany May 20, 1884. No. 30,639; in Canada December 13, 1884, No. 20,730; in India in 1885, No.1 in Austria-Hungary March 12, 1885, No. 44,058 and No. 15,285, and in Italy December g 31, 1ss5,N0.1,485.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED MAYHEW, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, and a resident of No.3 Victoria street,

Westminster, London, in the county of Middlesexf, England, engineer, have invented certain Improvements in Automatic Boiler-Feeders, (for which I have obtained a British patent, No. 7,647, dated May 13, 1884; a French patent, No. 161,404, dated April 8, 1884; a Belgian patent, No. 65,124, dated May 10, 1884; a German patent, No. 30,639, dated May 20, 1884; an Italian patent, No. 1,485, dated December31, 1885; an Austro-Hungarian patent, No. 44,658 and No. 15,285, dated March 22, 1885, a Canadian patent, No. 20,730, dated December 13, 1884, and an East India patent, No. 1, dated 1885,) of which the following is a speci' flcation.

My invention `relates vto improvementsl in automatic boiler-feeders.

The objects of my improvements are, first, to provide au absolutely automatic feeder which, after being started, will continue to feed water to the boiler in such quantity only as is required to maintain a constant workinglevel so long as evaporation continues, thus preventing all the expansion and contraction arising from irregular feeding, and when the evaporation ceases will automatically stop itself;

second, to provide an automatic feeder which has only the simplest form of working parts least liable to get out of order and requiring the minimum of attention, cleaning, oiling, and packing, and which will sound an alarm at onceif, from any cause, it should fail to actor should the supply of feed-Water fail; and,third, to feed water at ahigher temperature than heretofore. I attain these objects by the apparatus illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical section through an entire feeder. Fig. 2 is an elevation of a feeder and its connections to a single boiler.

Similarletters refer to similar parts throughout the figures.

The apparatus consists of acylindrical copper vessel, A, the upper end of which is re duced in diameter and fittedwith a casting provided with a vertical passage, a, having a 5o right-angle branch, a', leading to the upper side of a single-acting steam-valve, B. This valve is preferably of the miter type, closing at its upper end, and carries a weight, Z), uponl its upper end whenin its seat, as shown inFig. 5; 1.4 This weight b is calculated in proportion to the area of the valve-seat, so that the valve B may fall from its seat when the pressure is equalized on both sides. The valveB is inclosed in a casing, b', recessed into the casting 6o in which its seat is formed, and in some cases a ring, b2, is formed around the valve, between which and the casing b a clearance-space, b3,

is left for the passage of steam at low velocity. This ring bz is employed for convenience of iittingand adjusting the diameter of the valve, and also to act as a guide for the steam-valve Its area may be calculated, if desired, so that when the required velocity of steamis attained its pressure on the said area will act- 7o .nate the valve, but thisis not essential, as the same purpose may be effected by making the diameter of the Weight b the same as the diameter of the ring blmthat is, ratherless than the diameter. of the valve-casing. 7 5

A steam-pipe, C, from the steam-space of the boiler con'lmunicates with the under side of valve B. At the upper end of passage a a chamber, c2, is formed, above which is placed a casing, D, containing an ordinary copper 8o iioat, d. The float d is fitted with pin-valves d and d* at its top and bottom, respectively. The upper valve, d', controls an air-escapc aperture, d3, and the lower one, d2, controls an air-inlet aperture, d

In the chamber aZ aforesaid, below the airvalve casing D, the headof a pipe, E, is placed. This pipeis capable of vertical reciprocating motion, which motion is determined by the length of a slot, c, formed as shown, working 9o over the xed pin e. i, is

A contraction, c' formed between the chamber ai and the passage a aforesaid, through which the pipe E projects down and fits loosely in the passage a, and two slots, el e2, are provided near the lower extremity. Within the pipe E the moving spindleF is fitted concentrically and loosely, having an annular clearance-space left between its exterior surface and the interior surface of E. It is held iu posit-ion by a rivet,

f, near the base of E.

The copper vessel A is provided near its 5 lower extremity with `a flange, a3, which rests on and is fixed to the base-casting by a fiange or in suitable manner, and the lower extremity of A terminates in an enlarged chamber, G, formed therein.' The suction and delivery [o pipes H K communicate with the chamber and are fitted with valves 7e 7c. A partition, g, 1s formed across the casting, which forms the base of the chamber G and also the vtop of a lower chamber, L, which is connected direct :5 to the water in the boiler by a pipe, '1, which is led into the delivery-pipe. In the partition g an injection-valve, M, is fitted, working in-a gun-metal casing, m. The top of m is formed of a hexagonal shape. and any convenient 2o number sa six ofa ertures m aredrilledin it. An ascending pipe, lmi, is attached to the upper part of m above these holes. The valve M is fitted with a perforated pipe, m3, extending downward into chamber L. A hole, m4,

2 5 is drilled through the center of M, in which a moving spindle, N, works vertically, and the lower end of this spindle terminates in a head,

n, which, when it is in the lowest position, rests on a projection, Z2, formed on the casting at the 3o base of chamber L.

The feeder may be placed in any convenient situation near the boiler, butlabove workinglevel, and its connections thereto may be arranged advantageously, as shown in Fig. 2.

The steam-pipe C, projecting a suitable dis tance, say six inches, into the steam'space of the boiler, leads, as described, to the under side of valve B'. A branch pipe, c, is taken 'off C, leading to the top of a branch formed 4o on the delivery-pipe K, andl a pet cock may be xed at the junction. Stop-cocks c c3 are fitted on C and c, as shown. The lower part, C', of C passes eoncentrically into and down K to or about to the working-level of the water in the boiler. The delivery-pipe leads to a check-valve, P, which is provided with asmall hole, p, controlled by a spindle and handwheel,'p2. The upper end of the delivery-pipe K isconstructed preferably with a trap-bend,

5o such as 1J, upon which a petcock may be xed, and from which also a branch pipe, q, is carried up, to the top of which an alarmwhistle, Q, is attached. This alarm-whistle contains a fusible plug which will melt at a temperature of about 200 Fahrenheit, or near the boiling-point. This alarm-whistle may be 'attached to the feeder itself, or to any suitable part of the connections.

In order to start the apparatus, all valves 6o being closed, the air-valve and its casing D are removed and the whole apparatus and its pipes filled with water, which can be tested by the various petcocks. D is then replaced,and the hole p inthe check-valve P opened to allow a certain quantity of water to pass from the boiler into the feeder and its pipes to establish boiler-pressure uniformly therein.

The operation of the apparatus is then as follows: `On opening the stop-valve on steampipe C, the steam passing through the clearance-space b3 follows the water past steann valve B down along passages a and a and vessel A, equalizing the pressure on the surface of water in A, and allowing said'water to fall by gravity into the boiler through the deliverypipe K and check-valve l?. Wvhen the steam reaches the base of A and enters the enlarged chamber E, a sudden expansion. takes place, which causes a greater velocity of steam through the pipe C between the weight b (or the ring b2, when employed,)and casing b ofthe steam-valve B. The clearance-space b3 is calculated and made of j ust sufficient size to allow the steam to pass 'only at a certain velocity. When the extra velocity aforesaid takes place.

the calculated Velocity is exceeded. The addi- Y tional Vpressure therefore acts on the surface of the weight b (or the arca of the ring b2, when employed) and lifts the steam-valve B against its seat,thus shutting off steam from the whole apparatus. Then the pressure in A at once falls below thc boiler-pressure and a certain quantity of water from chamber L is forced up (by the constant boiler-pressure therein) through injection-valve M and ascending pipe m2. This water, coming among the steam then contained in A,eondensesit at ouce,creat ing vacuum. The effects of this vacuum are twofold: First it causes a charge of water to be drawn through suction-valve H, which is adjusted to allow of any desired velocity of inilow. of water into chamber G. Part of this water (being at alower temperature than that contained in chamber L) passes through the holes m in m at each action of the feeder up thc ascension pipe, and assists condensation, as described, in A. A second effect of the vacuum is to cause the water contained in chamber a2 to be sucked down the clearancespace surrounding pipe E at the contraction as. This action has the effect of lifting spindle F first up to pin e', it being lighter in proportion to its'area than the pipe E. A's the vacuum increases in proportion to the area and weight of pipe E, it also is raised until the base of the slot e takes against the pin e. When the apparatus has drawn its full charge of water and the pressure is thereby equal ized, as described,'the pipe E falls and is followcd by spindle F, and this quadruple movement keeps the passage a free from all liability to silt up or become incrusted with deposit.

In order to assist the -vacuum and make it more complete by insuring the absolute discharge of all air, the herein-described arrangement of air-releasc valveis devised, the action of which first admits contained air to the casing through valve d2 and allows its escape through orifice d.

If, from any cause, the feeder does not act, or shouldthe supply of water fail, steam en ters the discharge-pipe C and allows water contained therein, and also water contained in the delivery-pipe K, up to the trap p, and in the IOO IIO

` can go down half an inch below its proper level in the boiler.

Vhat I claim as my invention is l. In aboiler-fee'der,the combination,with the main vessel and passages and steam-pipe, of a single acting steam-valve, B, weighted in proportion to the area of its seat and having a weight, b, acting upon it of calculated diameter, or a ring, b2, around it of calculated area,

and a clearance-space, b3, for automatically closing the valve when the required velocity of steam is attained, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a boiler-feeder, the combination, with the main vessel and passages and steam pipe and valve adapted to remain open until a cer tain velocity is attained, of an enlarged suc-V tion and delivery chamber, G, for insuring eX- pansion and increased velocity of steam, so as to operatcthe steam-valve, substantially as set forth.

3. In an automatic boiler-feeder, the combination, with the main vessel, steam pipe and valve, and enlarged chamber, of a separate chamber directly connected with the Water in the boiler, provided with an injectionfvalve constructed as specified, fitted with ascension pipe adapted to inject water to condense steam and form vacuum, substantially as set forth.

4. `In a boiler-feeder provided with a vertical passage between the main vessel and the steam-valve and means for obtaining vacuum,

a tube adapted to slide automatically for a xed distance Within the passage at each action of the apparatus and ttted internally Wlth a movable spindle arranged to move after 1t for the purpose of preventing deposit inthe passage, substantially as set forth.

5. In a boiler-feeder such as is specified, the combination, with the main vessel, passages, and steam pipe and valve operating as described, of a casing containing a iioat fitted with pin-valvcs for automatically controlling air-escape orifices, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. An automatic boiler-feeder constructed and arranged and operating as hereinbefore described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

7. The combi nation,with an automatic boilerfeeder constructed, arranged, and operating as hereinbefore set forth, of its connections to a boiler, consisting of the steam-pipe C, audits extension to about water-level c', fitted concentrically Within the delivery-pipe K, provided with trap-bend, such as 1i, all arranged substantiall y as and for the purposes set forth.

8. The discharge-pipe C', passing concentrically into and down a delivery-pipe, K, to or about to the Workinglevel of the Water Within the boiler, provided with trap-bendp, in combination with an alarm-Whistle, Q, with steampipe adapted to be constantlyfull of Water when the feeder is at work, and afusible plug contained therein, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony Whcreofl have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ALFRED MAYHEW.

Witnesses:

EDMUND J UssEN, EDWARD SCHMIDT. 

